Implementing Partner: Center for Media Development and Analysis (CRMA) and InfoHouse

The Challenge

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) suffers from widespread public corruption in all aspects of government and society which severely impedes reform. While local NGOs and BiH media increasingly affirm their commitment to anti-corruption and develop skills to monitor and report corruption, they embark on projects individually, exclusively and without communication, allowing corruption to remain pervasive. It is necessary to improve interaction between civil society and media as a whole to effectively pressure the BiH government to enforce and sustain the anti-corruption reforms required for BiH European integration.

Our Program

USAID’s Anti-Corruption Civic Organizations’ Unified Network (ACCOUNT) Project will establish systematic and sustainable approaches to successfully combat corruption in BiH in the long term. It will work to augment existing anti-corruption initiatives to create more coordinated, comprehensive and publicly recognized civic anti-corruption campaigns through the accomplishment of three objectives: (1) encourage NGOs to form larger and more inclusive movements by establishing an umbrella network of NGOs and other relevant stakeholders; (2) develop, adopt and enforce existing and new anti-corruption legislation and policies; and (3) create widely known and safe avenues for reporting on corruption, while using all available means of public outreach to raise awareness at the grassroots level.

Implementation and Results

This project will be implemented over a period of three years and it will be managed by Board of Directors and Assembly composed of respected anti-corruption institutions and individuals. In addition, ACCOUNT will regularly organize meetings among civil society, media, and other anti-corruption stakeholders, to ensure proper communication and stimulate cooperation on specific issues. Watchdog teams will be formed in local communities to ensure communication and inclusiveness at the grassroots level. ACCOUNT will work throughout the entire country. Anticipated results include creation of a unified anti-corruption network, increased dialogue with government counterparts on reforms, improved legislation deemed by the network as most important and/or urgent, and increased anti-corruption education, citizen pressure for reform and reporting on corruption by media. In the first year, ACCOUNT signed MOUs with dozens of media outlets to ensure strong public outreach for ACCOUNT initiatives.